I'm Serious
by ichibinoshukaku
Summary: Looking back, he realized everything changed since that first time. The setting, the boxes, the ribbons, the flavors of the chocolates, the timing and even the two people involved. All changed except for one. All else moved along with time except with the note which reads the same every year. Set at the Future Arc. :)
1. I'm Serious

**Hello Dear Readers!**

**This is my first time so yeah. :)**

**_Katekyo! Hitman Reborn_ will now have a special place in my heart for it's part of this first time experience. :")**

**Basically, this story happened during the Future Arc, specifically when Ryohei and Hibari argued about why I-pin and Lambo are not allowed inside Hibari's home. Then...Just read on to know. ;)**

**Also,**

**I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS. AMANO AKIRA-SENSEI OWNS THEM.**

**ENJOY! :)**

* * *

It was almost a normal day for Hibari. Almost. The day would have gone smoothly if not for the visitors that were "crowding" his home.

Oh, well. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, as one saying goes, so might as well face it. It was a situation that he was so familiar with that handling it would be a breeze.

On the other hand, his loyal assistant, Kusakabe Tetsu, thought otherwise. This was a situation that he was also familiar with and he knew very well that his boss will be able to handle this with no problems at all. No problem on Hibari's side, but on the side that dares to stand and challenge the Vongola Decimo's strongest guardian, it would not just end with bruises or simple nosebleeds, unless it's another guardian.

Kusakabe was not sure if he should feel relief or dismay because it was Sasagawa Ryohei, the Sun Guardian, who was exchanging glances with Hibari. Relief, because there would be at least minimum damage inflicted on both parties; dismay because probable casualties would have been avoided if it not for a stupid reason which started the tension in the first place. The useless squabble still goes on in front of him. He tried stopping it just moments earlier but his words only fell on deaf ears.

"If that's the case, we'll settle this with fists and Boxes!" shouted the Sun Guardian.

"That's fine with me," Hibari replied coolly.

"Nothing can stop me…to the extreme!", Ryohei shouted with fire literally burning in his eyes.

Kusakabe watched uncomfortably and decided to intervene once more.

"No such thing. I've been stopping you since just now! The guardians should not be fighting over such a senseless reason. Please stop."

"What do you mean by senseless reason?" Ryohei retorted. "Why am I allowed in the residence but the kids are not? What's that all about!" The Boxer could not really comprehend why the Cloud Guardian would not allow such _harmless_ little kids into his home? It's just I-pin and Lambo for pete's sake! They're less dangerous than anyone else in the base! They wouldn't hurt a fly given that they're now five-year-olds and not their 15-year-old selves. That's what he thought, at least.

"Truth be told, you're not welcomed either." Hibari corrected him. Technically, nobody's welcome inside his base, except for some people or if there are special occasions. "Just looking at you dampens my will to fight," he added, just to provoke Ryohei a little more. Hibari would like more than anything to fight and it has been a while since he sparred with his fellow guardian, so might as well set the mood for it.

"What? I'm pissed off to the extreme!"

Bingo. Just as Hibari planned. Now the stage is all set.

Seeing how things are progressing, Kusakabe can't take it anymore and took matters right into his own hands.

"All right. All right. Let me take Lambo-san and I-pin-san back to their hideout and I'll play with them over there. Please, just let it rest already." He slid the door behind him open as he appeased both guardians.

"Oh well…" Ryohei conceded.

_Damn, Tetsu. _Hibari thought, just when things were finally heating up.

"We'll just go for one round then." Ryohei suddenly added.

"That's fine with me." Hibari accepted the challenge.

"You will not! Please talk only! No fighting!" Kusakabe scolded before finally going out of the room to bring Lambo and I-pin back to the main Vongola base.

After an exchange of deadly glares and making sure that Kusakabe was out of sight, the fighting commences. Flames and box weapons were out, along with Ryohei's bare fists and Hibari's tonfas.

The fight got intense with every blow but both are still at par in strength, not showing signs of fatigue or weakness. As the fight reached the climax, the two decided to give the finishing blow. Both strike at the same time. As the sound of flesh being pounded rang in their ears, the match ended with Hibari standing victorious while Ryohei was sent flying to the next room, destroying the traditional walls and knocking off some cabinets that were behind the walls in the process.

"Damn…" the fallen guardian muttered.

"If you have nothing more to do here, leave. Or I will bite you to death." Hibari held up his tonfa to show that he's dead serious with his warning. He then turned his back and went to the main base.

"Heh…" Ryohei pulled himself up and tried to put the cabinets back in their original place. He figured he can't do anything about the wall so might as well remove the damaged panels so that the base will look as if it is unscathed. He was removing the last of the two defected boards when he kicked something. Come to think of it, as he was moving around, he kicked several cardboard-box-like things but did not bother until the last one made a loud sound as it hit something.

He looked down and saw several pieces of small boxes. He picked up one of them and gave it a closer look. The box was sky blue with a pink lid. It even had nicely tied pink and red ribbon to fasten it. He looked down again on the floor and counted that there are nine other more, with different colors and shapes. He shook what he was holding but no sound was made. It must be empty. But if it is empty, then why the neat packaging? It's as if these boxes had never been opened before.

Curiosity was really urging him to open it so before doing anything more, he glanced around to see if there was anyone around. Very gently, he pulled the ends of the ribbon. He could just pull the ribbon in one swift motion, but if Hibari finds out that he has been meddling with his stuff, the Sun Guardian is sure he will be bitten to death. He also want to give himself some suspense, knowing that inside the little parcel might be _one of the many_ secrets that Hibari was keeping.

"Sasagawa-san?" Ryohei flinched to Kusakabe's voice, dropping the box with the untied ribbon on his hand. A piece of paper that was inside the box fell out and settled on the floor a few inches from the box. He panicked and debated whether to take the paper or not. Conscience got the better of him and he returned the paper inside the box and hastily tied it with the ribbon. He gathered the other boxes and shoved them inside a cabinet just in time before Kusakabe entered through the new entry way to the next room.

"Sasagawa-san, they are calling for you. A meeting will be held to reevaluate our strategy."

"R-right. O-okay."

Kusakabe noticed the fidgety Ryohei. "Are you okay?"

"O-of course I'm okay! I feel fine, to the extreme!" Ryohei said and gave an awkward laugh.

Kusakabe could ask a million more questions, but now's not the time for that. There are bigger problems to face and bigger questions to answer.

Those little boxes really caught Sasagawa Ryohei's attention, to the extreme. But unfortunately, once he got back to the base, he forgot all about them.

* * *

That night, Hibari felt the quietness of the world for the first time since morning. He quietly enjoyed his tea with Hibird, who was sitting on top of his head. Moments later, Kusakabe entered from the new opening.

"Kyou-san, it seems that Sasagawa-san indeed found the boxes."

"Hmph. And?"

"It seems that all of them were untouched, that is, were unopened except this one." Kusakabe put the sky blue box with the pink lid on top of the low table in front of Hibari.

Hibari sighed and dismissed Kusakabe for the day. Hibird flew down from his head to give the small box a closer look. As if recognizing it, the bird chirped a name that Hibari have not heard from the little animal for quite some time.

"I-pin! I-pin! I-pin!" Hibird said happily while flapping its little wings.

Hibari smirked and thought how dumb the Sun Guardian was, thinking that this thing will go unnoticed. With his love for order, the ex-Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of Namimori Junior High has a keen eye for small details and the frayed part on one of the ends of the ribbon was not missed. Also, for the past years, he personally ties the ribbon back on the boxes. He made sure to make his way of tying unique so that if there is anyone who has the guts to open the boxes, he will be bitten to death.

Hibari, Hibird and the little girl are the only ones who knew what these boxes are for. Kusakabe knew nothing about it, except for the fact that every year, those boxes increase by one and that his boss makes sure that these were properly taken care of, including the ribbons which he daintily tied. These were then stored inside the cabinet in the room next to the receiving room for reasons he don't know. It sometimes made him wonder where all of these came from and what were they for but shrugged the matter off most of the time.

On the other hand, Hibari knew very well how all of this came about and remembers it as clear as day.

Ten years ago, while he was walking along the blocks of Namimori, a little girl gave him a box of chocolates. He was surprised. He was sure that his intimidating personality was enough to give a five-meter-radius-keep-off area between him and other people but this five-year old was able to break through that. He watched as the little girl ran past him after she bowed and a few moments after, a very loud explosion was heard. The explosion became a background sound because he was still fixated at the bravery of the girl. That night, after eating the chocolates (which fortunately for the little girl, he enjoyed) a piece of folded paper fell as he was throwing out the box. He unfolded it and smiled. For the second time of the day, his interest was caught by the little girl, and decided to keep the box. Not that Hibari was a sentimental person. He was simply amused. That's all.

Year after year, he would receive one box of chocolate, without fail. Even when he reached high school wherein other girls aside from the little girl were able to breach the keep-off zone, he refused them and accepted just only one. Even when he became busy with his work as head of an underground intelligence group while being a Cloud Guardian, the little girl would just drop by the chocolate in his office, knowing that both of them are busy (with him working and her also working at a ramen shop and at the same time studying), and giving it personally was inconvenient. Even in the past few years, where the world was under such chaos, Hibari was travelling quite a lot and the little girl was not able to give it on Valentine's Day itself. She would still find a way, giving the treat to him even though it was not February.

Also, year after year, he kept the boxes the were containing the treats. At first, he only did this for amusement. Seeing a child confessing her feelings was an entertainment for him. But as years go by and the little girl became more mature, he did not know his reason anymore. He just felt that he needs to keep it and before he knew it, it became a yearly habit. He really doesn't know why and even feels uneasy at the thought that he will not receive anything when the year ends. He was restless the first time he received the chocolates two hours late than the usual four o'clock in the afternoon. Not that he was mindful of the time. The little girl was staying late for library duties but still rushed out to deliver her gift. There was even a year when the gift was two days late and he was agitated for the rest of Valentine's. Nobody knew why but he beat up more people than usual until he received the gift. He bit everybody to death, except the person that made him upset. For the following Valentine's until the latest, the chocolates were always late, but no one was beaten to the pulp anymore.

Aside from receiving and keeping the boxes, he never did anything to repay the little girl. He does not know why but he prefers not to send any response. He does not reject her. He just feels it is best to not give any response. He longed acknowledged that it's because of a herbivore-ish feeling that was keeping him from answering back. He acknowledges, but refuses to show. And, yes, he was human in some sense and he hated it. How the little girl manage to draw a carnivore like him in a trap which he can easily escape but yet chose not to was hateful yet satisfying.

Also, looking back, he realized everything changed since that first time. The setting, the boxes, the ribbons, the flavors of the chocolates, the timing and even the two people involved. All changed except for one. All else moved along with time except with the note which reads the same every year. He kept all ten of them each in their respective boxes, all with the same characters in different (and improving) penmanship since the first.

Hibari sometimes wonder who is more childish: the little girl (who is not little anymore) who keeps sending chocolates every year with the same message for ten years but never gets a reply? Or the man who secretly and eagerly waits for the chocolates every year but his pride gets in the way for him to say something back? Either way, he just now realized that he was the one who lost the game ever since it started, admitting that he is the more immature one, and realized that sooner or later, he should turn the tables around in his favor.

He undid the ribbon that was shabbily tied by Ryohei but before tying it back again, he grabbed the piece of paper inside and stared at the messy handwriting. Despite the poor quality, Hibari still smiles to himself, making him feel the feeling he felt ever since the first time. He returned the paper inside the box and just before he put on the lid, he was called by Kusakabe to go to the main house because Lal Mirch needs to discuss something with him. He sighed and instead of closing the box with the paper inside, he took the note and slid it in the inner pocket of his yukata. Hibird then perched on his shoulder as he made his way to the main base.

Hibari walked quietly going to the main base with Kusakabe right behind him. A few more steps before entering the base, he stopped and glanced at Kusakabe from behind.

"Tetsu."

"Hai?"

"I have a message for the little girl."

Kusakabe juggled in his mind for who is this little girl that his boss was talking about. The only little girl he knew that was there was I-pin. It must be for I-pin. But why?

"Tell her: 'After all of this is over, after the future is saved, after when we can live peacefully again, I, too, _will be serious.'_", Hibari added.

"H-hai…" Kusakabe answered hesitantly.

Hibari continued walking, fiddling the little note in his yukata. He pulled it out and read it again as if it was the first time he has seen it. There on the little paper was I-pin's first attempt to write her first and probably most important letter in her life. Hibari imagined her struggling with the pen in her hands as she wrote the words _I'm serious._

* * *

_Notes:_

I-pin's letter: She actually meant: "My feelings for you are serious." :)

Reviews are appreciated! Thank you! ^_^


	2. I'm Serious (Omake)

Hibari was walking on one of the long corridors of the main base. Being called by Lal Mirch in the middle of the night, it must something be serious. He continued his pace with Kusakabe behind him when he passed by a door slightly opened. He turned his head to see what's inside.

The light from the corridors gave him little access of what was in the room but it was enough for him to see something familiar even for a split-second.

He knew that thing was on the left side of a bed. It was small with red eyes, wearing purple robe with a red pacifier around it's neck and has the same hairstyle as him. Wrapped around the doll was a small arm with red long sleeves that was white on the cuff area. Aside from this, he failed to see what the light was not able to reach.

_The Red Arcobaleno_. He thought. He knew very well that the martial artist expert was the little girl's master whom she adores so much. And he also knew very well that what the little girl was clutching right now was a gift from the boxing herbivore. He heard it quite well when she said, as Kusakabe was about to take them back to the main house to play, that it was "a gift from Ryohei-san."

_From Ryohei-san…Ryohei-san…Ryohei-san…_ It rang inside his ears. His strides were faster than before, with Kusakabe adjusting to his pace behind him. He wants to finish the talk with Lal Mirch as soon as possible because he has _another_ reason to bite the Sun Guardian to death aside from messing with his boxes.


End file.
